Method and apparatus for treating yarn



June 18, 1940. 2,205,366

J. J. STOECKLY METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING YARN Filed June 25, 1936 o o I j fad 15. J a j F 2. a glwunfom um) Mame 0k 512mm 4; ton, linen and the like, or artificial-silk or staple Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED STATES i 2,205,366 METHOD AND APPTUS FOR TBEA'I'ING YARN Johann Joseph Stoeckly, Teltow-Seehof; :Germany, assignor to North American Rayon Gorporation, New York, Delaware N. Y., a corporation of Application June 25, 1936, Serial No. 87,133 In Germany June 2'1, 1935 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of yarns of cellulosic origin but more particularly has for its purpose to devise an improved finishing process.

It has long been known in the industry that textile fabrics made from cellulose yarns have a tendency to wrinkle to an excessive degree. A number of processes have been known and used for the sole purpose of eliminating the wrinkling of the fabrics. In one of these known processes the goods are impregnated with solutions of artificial resin such as formaldehyde condensation products; the latter solutions are then precipitated upon and within the'threads by means of high treating temperatures.

Whereas in the treatment of fabrics made from yarns of cellulosic origin some success has been achieved in eliminating wrinkling, in the treatment ofthe yarns themselves, no satisfactory rep suits have been obtained. Where treating steps have been taken the resultshave been at best most irregular. In the majority of cases, certain portions of the yarn were found incapable of enduring the high and long treating temperatures necessary for the success of the process. The result was that the yarn became-hard and brittle and lost a certain amount of its elongation properties and that the yarn was therefore not as suitable for weavingpurposes as before the finishing treatment had been given to it.

It 'has been found through extensive experimentation that the unsatisfactory results were largely due to the fact that the yarn had been treated either in the form of a wound package or in skeins. It was further found that uniform impregnation did not occur when whole yarn packages or skeins were fully saturated. It was also found that the'impregnating substances con- -centrated at those places in the yarn package m which had been most thoroughly dried.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to devise a process whi'ch'will satisfactorily eliminate the wrinkling of cellulose yarns, i. e., yarns made from natural textiles such as cotm other objects a: the present inven- Ytion will in part become j obvious and part be out in the following specification and the 'u' appended claims taken in conjunction 'with the "attachd drawing." The drawing shows a schefmatic view of a preferred form of a deVice'carry J 'mro tt e i .w n fie tg' h i nv g The presentinventioncomprises saturation of ll the threadduring heat treatment or thecon'den sation process may be 'c'arried:-outat ahig'h temperature, and on, a continuously moving single The impregnation"and/or hardening liquids employed may be 'of the same kind as D heretofore used for similar purposes, 1. e., solutions and emulsions of artificial and natural resin, and the like.

It is preferred to draw the yarn from large packages such as cross-wound bobbins or cones and to lead the thread for its impregnation first through a device containing a hardening liquid. For this purpose, the thread is first immersed and then passed over a guiding device having a sponge or felt body whereby excess liquid may be removed from the thread. Other devices such as are used for the continuous oiling or sizing of thread may also be employed- The thread loaded with a limited amount of hardening liquid is then dried in a continuous operation-and heated thoroughly and the desired 15 hardening effect is thus obtained. Thereafter the thread is collected or wound in any well known manner.

It is essential that not only the temperature to which the thread is subjected be kept within certain limits, but that also the length of time of heating is accurately gauged and the heating process discontinued.

The drying and heating device forrso-called continuous thread apparatus which have been employed hitherto-in the unwinding of'the yarn may be used. For example, drying rollersan'd roller-like devices and combinations thereof which make it possible to advance the thread in a continuous helix may be used. The heating rollers may be heated from the inside in any well known manner, either by hot oil or by electrical means or with super-heated'steam. It is believed, however, that the'heating of the drying rollers by direct contact with gas flames either from the outside or'the inside is preferable as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The treating device may be constructed in the form of a longitudinal machine which is provided along its lower end with a liquid container and into which the thread. is drawn whereby a thorough saturation with the impregnating fluid takes place. A drying cylinder is arranged above this container, over which thethread is: passed a plurality of times for the drying and "hardening thereof.- The guidance ofthe threadaround the cylinder a plurality of times maybe accomplished by using ordinary threadguides,- thread guide gratesor g'uidingrollers'. The necessary windfi'ng device is arranged-above the drying device. It may consist of winding devices for. crosswound bobbins; the shafts'of which' may-be ar- "ranged in longitudinal direction of the machine whereby 'all offtherbobbins maybev served by a common traverse guide. By-means of the above arrangement, itwill be possiblejto provide aboard along 'the'lower end-*oe-the' machine upon which aiarg'e n'umber of yarn pa kaees;" xampl fifty or one hundred, may be placed. From these yarn packages the thread may then be drawn ofl I by reason of rotation of the yarn support or the thread may be drawn vertically if the yarn body is stationary and is then passed through the impregnating fluid by means of suitable guiding 5 devices. The excess liquid may be removed from the thread by passing it over scraping-ofi devices, sponges and the like, and may then be led to the winding device by way of a common drying cylinder in the manner described above.

In some instances, it may be advisable to insert between the impregnating device and the actual heating and hardening device a step or means effecting a dehydration of the thread at increased temperature. By so doing agglutination and crystallization on the heating roller may be prevented.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section of a machine for carrying out the novel process;

Fig. 2 is a partial diagrammatic section of a modified form of the invention;

In Fig. 1 of the drawing in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts, I indicates the thread whichiis drawnfrom a crosswound bobbin,. 2, and passes over a thread break 3, on toheating rollers ,4 and 5, arranged at an angle with respect to the bobbin 2.

' The-thread passes over-the heating cylinders 4 and 5, a plurality of times and is subsequently 80 wound with constant speed upon. a bobbin 6.

Hardening liquid is sprayed upon the lower treatingcylinderby means of a calibrated nozzle I.

That portion of the liquid which is not carried away by .the thread I, flows off along the lower a; cylinder 5 into the trough 8 in order to be used again if desired. The lower side of the upper cylinder 4 is heated by means of a gas burner 9.

' The thread I, after having passed over the lower end of the cylinders is well saturated with 40 treating liquid and passes gradually into the heating zone of thedrying roller where it is dried and gradually heated to a high temperature.

, With a uniform take-up speed the length of time of the heat treatment may be readily controlled, depending upon the number of windings of the thread around the cylinders and the degree of heating of the latter.

During the passage of the thread through the air to the bobbin winding device 5, the thread undergoes a cooling step and is thus preserved from injuries due to temperature after-effects.

If desired the thread may be passed over an easily movable no-load roller ill, in order to be" 05 -As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing the thread may be drawn from large packages such as crosswound bobbins or cones, and first impregnated V by drawing it through a device containing a hardening liquid. For this purpose the thread 10 is first immersed in atrough II by bein carried around a. nude rod IS. The thread then passes from thezrough to a guiding device having a sponge or felt body IG', whereby excessive liquid maybe removed from the thread. As hereinbesurfaces to form a dried yarn;

fore pointed out, other devices as are used for the continuous oiling and sizing of threads may be employed.

It the device is intended for use on a big scale production, it is advisable to arrange a large number of operating places side by side and at a certain distance from each other. Both sides of the machine may also be utilized for operation and the numerous heating rollers on the two sides of the machine may be driven from a 10 common gearing within a gear case I! positioned in the lower part of the machine.

The treating rollers 5 should of course consist of a material which is resistant to chemicals used. 1

From the foregoing description, it is thought the complete operation, arrangement and process disclosed will be clear to those skilled in the art to which it releates.

What I claim is: 80 1. In a machine for finishing yarn comprising a frame, roller means extending from the frame in an upwardly inclined direction, driving means for said rollers, means for moistening the roller means at the bottom and heating said roller {I means at thef'top thereof, and means for feeding yarn soas to cause it to progress in a helical path along said roller means from the bottom to the top thereof; a suction device extending above the roller means in spaced relation thereto, a freely movable cooling roller between the top of the roller means and the suction device and in contact with which the heated yarn is adapted to pass as it leaves the roller means, a remoistening device, and a yarn collecting device, both the I re-moistening device and the yarn collecting device being arranged to contact the yarn after it has been cooled and has moved beyond the sucti'on device.

'2. In a machine for finishing yarn comprising 4. a frame, roller means extending from opposite sides of the frame in an upwardly inclined direction, driving means for said roller means, means for moistening the roller means at the bottom and heating said roller means at the top 4 thereof, and means for feeding yarn so as to cause it to progress in a helical path along each of said roller means from the bottom to the top thereof a suction device common to both sides of the frame and extending above each roller 50 means in spaced relation thereto, a freely movable cooling rollerbetween the top of each roller means and the suction device and in contact with which the heated yarn is adapted to pass as it leaves the roller means, a re-moistening device foreach roller means, and a yarn collecting device for each roller means, both the re-moistening devices and the yarn collecting devices being arranged to contact the yarn after it has been cooled and has moved beyond the suction a device. a

3. In a process for the continuous sizing of artificial cellulosic yarn, the steps comprising saturating the yarn with sizing solution and drying it by applying heat thereto while it is passing II in a helical path over rotating, impervious guiding immediately thereafter cooling said dried yarn by causing it. to pass continuously without substantial rela-' tive movement over a heat-absorbing surface; I. re-moistening the dried and cooled yarn; and finally collecting said yarn.

J OHANN JOSEPH STOECKLY. 

